What is an Advertising Major and is it Right for Me?

If you love figuring out what makes people tick and flexing your creative and analytical skills at the same time, then majoring in advertising could be perfect for you. At its simplest, advertising is about figuring out how to sell products and services to a specific demographic. You need to know who your audience is, their likes and dislikes and what will stand out to them above the plethora of other ads out there. Because of this, advertising requires an interesting mix of creative and quantitative skills.

Here’s are some things to keep in mind if you’re considering an advertising major.

What is an advertising major?

An advertising major blends creative fields like art and design with more quantitative subject areas like psychology. Your course work has both; you’ll take classes like advertising copywriting, graphic design, consumer behavior, advertising sales and advertising research.

Is it right for me?

If you’re still not sure if advertising is the way to go, here are some key questions to ask.

• Do I like figuring people out and understanding what makes them tick?
• Am I interested in sales? Do I like figuring out the best way to pitch and sell a product to consumers of any kind?
• Do I like communicating and working with others? Do I consider my interpersonal skills to be a strong suit?
• Am I able to take criticism and feedback from peers, professors and professionals well?
• Do I look forward to interning during college and gaining valuable work experience in the field?
• Am I able to think creatively as well as quantitatively, focusing on both creative campaign ideas and metrics?
• Am I just as interested in the ads in magazines, on TV, and on Snapchat as the content itself?

Is an advertising major different from a marketing major?

You might also be wondering how an advertising major differs from a marketing major. While both fall under most schools’ communications departments, they are typically treated as entirely different majors.

What’s the biggest difference? Marketing is about every part of the process of creating and selling a product, from how the product is designed to how it’s packaged, sold and improved for further promotion. Advertising, in contrast, focuses mainly on promotion.

What can I do with an advertising degree?

Advertising majors can go into any number of fields within marketing and communications, including copywriting and product management. They can also be:

• advertising account executives
• web designers
• campaign managers
• media planners
• sales representatives

What do people who majored in advertising earn?

Advertising majors typically start off in the $35,000-$45,000 range after graduating from college, but people working in the field of advertising can make well over $160,000 once they’re in managerial and executive positions.

Next, learn more about this college major such as Architecture and get more career tips for internships and entry-level jobs such as How to Become a Confident Public Speaker.